Hot Weather Gardening

How Heat and Humidity Affect Vegetable Plants—and What Gardeners Should Do
ByStephen Albert

Hot weather alone can challenge a vegetable garden. Add high humidity, and plants face an entirely different set of problems. While gardeners often focus on temperature, humidity plays an equally important role in determining how well vegetables grow, flower, and produce. High temperatures combined with humid air can slow plant cooling, encourage diseases, interfere with…

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Extreme Heat Gardening: 15 Ways to Keep Vegetables Alive When Temperatures Top 95°F
ByStephen Albert

A few hot afternoons won’t usually hurt an established vegetable garden. But when temperatures climb above 95°F for several consecutive days, plants begin operating in survival mode. They conserve water, slow growth, stop producing flowers, and direct energy toward staying alive rather than producing vegetables. The good news is that most vegetable crops can survive—even…

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How to Protect Your Vegetable Garden During a 90°F to 100°F Heat Wave
ByStephen Albert

When temperatures climb into the 90°F to 100°F range, vegetable gardens enter a period of stress. Tomatoes stop setting fruit, lettuce bolts, cucumbers wilt by afternoon, and peppers pause their growth. A few days of extreme heat may not kill healthy plants, but without the right care, a prolonged heat wave can reduce harvests for…

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